Fearless Leader
by Arich
Summary: A year after she left Utopia, Cyclops has an offer for her.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fan fiction and the first story I have written in quite a few years. Any and all advise is welcome. Cheers!**

Chapter One

It was truly a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the temperature was warm, and the light wind blowing was just right. My chair was comfortable and the hot espresso sitting by my hand smelled perfect. There were surprisingly few people wandering around considering the weather, but those that were, were obviously enjoying themselves. It was this blissful ignorance that ruined the moment for me.

I knew this kind of peace was a good thing and that I should have been happy with the moment. But even after all this time, I still could not bring myself to fully relax. I was starting to think that I never would. But if that was the price I had to pay for keeping the innocents safely ignorant, so be it. It was because of this pondering that I did not notice his scent until he stopped next to my table. "Is this seat taken?"

"Is the answer not obvious to you?" I say as I chasten myself for not paying better attention to my surroundings.

"I will take that as a no", is all he says as he lowers himself into the other chair at the table. "So, how are you?"

"Why are your here?" I quickly bite out, automatically becoming suspicious.

"I was in the neighborhood." He says with the same nonchalant tone as the rest of his words have been spoken. Something that is completely out of character for the no nonsense leader I was used to. So, I respond with a word that I hope will get him to cut to the reason of his visit. One word. One of my father's favorites, actually. "Bullshit."

"Completely." He nods as he takes a sip of his own coffee, the sun reflecting off his red glasses and momentarily blinding me. "Actually, I had a hell of a time finding you. But I'm glad that I did, you look great."

"Thank you. Has something happened? Cerebro should have found me easily."

"No, everything is actually fine for once. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Something that required secrecy from the telepaths? I thought you had disbanded any illicit activities."

"I have. But that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about. The thing is... (sigh) the X-Men aren't kids anymore. But we have been doing this since we were kids. Frankly, I'm sick of it. Now that things have calmed down, there is nothing I want to do more than talk Emma into marrying me and moving to the Savage Land. But, I can't do that without a replacement."

As he finishes saying this, he stops to take off his glasses and rub the bridge of his nose. It is then that I realize that he does look both old and tired. But I do not get a chance to think more about this as he replaces his glasses and starts to speak again.

"I've actually been looking for a replacement for a few years now. But things just keep getting in the way... For a long time I kept bouncing between Jubilee and Kitty. But I never know if Jubilee is going to be up, down or sideways. And Kitty never really wanted this life anyway. But, then I started thinking about you. Between your performance with the Young X-Men and X- Force, I know you're more than capable. And the things I've heard the past year are impressive." It was during this last sentence that he slowed his speech as he noticed my expression had switched from neutral to confused.

"Laura? Are you okay?" This sudden question snapped me out of my apparent transparency and before he could say something else, I started to fire questions at him. "What about one of the younger X-Men? Or a New Mutant? Are you asking me... to... lead the X-Men?"

"Yes, that is exactly what I am asking of you." Apparently I had not been able to replace my neutral expression as well as I had thought, because instead of firing ahead with his reasoning he asked me to wait and hear him out.

"There really isn't anyone else. The few X-Men that could lead the whole damn circus are either dead, or getting just as old as I am. And none of the kids can handle that much responsibility. Just think about it."

"Why haven't you discussed this with Emma?" I am calmer now that he has mostly explained himself, but I still have questions and concerns running around my head. Mostly though, I just want to wrap up this conversation so I can get away and think.

"Heh. You know how she is. Somehow, I don't think she'll approve of me actively looking for a replacement. I wanted to have everything set _before_ I talked to her about it." He said this with a small smile on his face. I could tell he loved her dearly by the tone he used to speak of her. But that did not mean he was a fool. After all, it was a well known fact the Emma Frost had a fierce temper. Especially when it came to her charges.

"I need time to think. When will you need an answer?"

"A few days. If don't want to take the job, I'm going to have to start looking around." He said this last part with a grimace. It was obvious that he was not looking forward to that.

"If there is nothing else you wish to say I will speak to you in several days." I started to stand as I said this to emphasize my wish to leave. He caught on to this and stood as well.

"I'll talk to you soon then. No matter what you decide, it was good to see you."

"It was good to see you as well and, I wish you and Emma…luck." He paused as I said this, a small but genuine smile filled his face. "Thank you." He nodded and turned around to walk back through the front of the cafe, likely to refill the coffee he had been steadily drinking. I turned the other direction, stepping onto the street to join the people making their way to various destinations. I needed a quiet place to think, and make a few phone calls.


	2. Chapter 2

She settled onto the sunny boulder she had found after walking several miles outside of the city. It was located behind a series of small hills and surrounded by tall grass and poppies. The ingrained tactical part of her chose the spot because it was shielded from the road and the hills would prevent her voice from carrying far. At least this is what she told herself. The actual reason was that it was pretty and smelled good. However, there are only a handful of people in the world that could actually get her to admit this.

She sighed as she pulled out her cell phone; she had spent a good deal of her walk thinking about those people and deciding which ones to call. She sighed a second time as she started to dial the first set of numbers and hoped that he was not in the middle of trying to get himself killed, again. She held her breath as the phone rang at an almost painful volume in her ear. Time seemed to crawl as she waited for the ringing to end and be replaced with the sounds of a fight. Just about the time she wished she had telepathy so that she did not have to bother with these damn contraptions, the phone clicked and a half asleep "hello" was growled through the other end of the line.

She expelled the breath she had been holding, grateful that he was safe for the moment. He however was not aware of this as he growled through the phone in annoyance.

"Either start talkin' bub, or I'm goin' back to sleep."

"Wait... I... am sorry to disturb you, would you prefer that I call back later?" She really was sorry, his healing factor did not work as well as it used to and he needed all the rest that he could get. He would never admit this, but she knew.

"Nah darlin', I'm awake now. What's botherin' yah?" She could hear him rustling on the other end of the phone, likely fighting with the bed sheets; he had a habit of getting caught in them. A dangerous habit if he was ever ambushed while asleep, but it was amusing to watch otherwise.

"I had a visit from Cyclops today." The rustling changed, and she concluded that he was now searching for clothing. The only she reply received was a grunt. Although whether it was directed towards her or an offending article of clothing was debateable. As there did not seem to be any other response forthcoming, she decided on the former and continued. "He asked me to take over leadership of the X-Men."

"That so?" The rustling was now replaced with the soft padding of feet. Most likely heading towards some sort of food and drink. This however was the only change in sound. His voice remained the same. This in itself was not unusual; he was after all a difficult man to phase. However, she had thought that this would surprise him.

"You knew?"

"Course I did, Summers' isn't nearly unreadable as he thinks he is. Besides, he asked my opinion."

"What did you say?"

"That don't matter. What does matter is what you think of it." Of course he didn't give her a straight answer, he rarely did. As much as she appreciated his confidence in her ability to make decisions, she sometimes wished he would just tell her what the right thing to do was. She sighed again and was unable to keep the sorrow out of her voice as she answered.

"I think it is an awful idea. A... a crazy idea. The only reason I said I would think about it was shock."

"You sure about that?"

"Yes."

"Huh, 'kay then." She waited for him to continue, but he seemed content with silence. He had apparently made his way to a kitchen, as she could hear coffee brewing, bacon frying and a slight sound that was likely eggs. Her mouth watered as she thought of this, her head leaning back automatically to sniff the air for the accompanying scents. The scent of poppies assaulted her instead, and as lovely as they smelled it brought her back to the reason of their conversation.

"What do you think of it?"

"Darlin' if you hate the idea so much, then it's already settled. If you'd like, I'll tell Cyke for ya."

"I do not hate the idea. I think it is a bad idea. Stop avoiding the question." He was quiet for so long that she was about to prompt him again when he finally started to speak.

"(Sigh) I think it would be great for the X-men. But it's a hell of a job and I don't want to see you go through that." Concern intertwined with confidence, as usual. She could not think of a more annoying hand for him to take with her. Yet there was not a combination that could have made her appreciate him more.

She did not know what to say, so she said nothing. She sat there listening to him eat and then clean the dishes; all the while watching the fields in front of her. She did not know how long she had been sitting there just listening, until she realized that she could no longer hear him breathing on the other end of the phone. This finally brought her out of her reverie and made her look at her phone in confusion. The battery had died. She sat there for a few more minutes, then stood up and started the walk back to her hotel. She needed to recharge her phone and find some sort of dinner. Then she would figure out her next move.


End file.
